“Poor creature!  How unfortunate, Uncle Thomas.  It must, however, have been a very stupid animal to mistake a wig for its mother.”

CHAPTER IX.

Uncle Thomas concludes Stories about Instinct with several Interesting Illustrations of the Affections of Animals, particularly of the Instinct of Maternal Affection, in the course of which he narrates the Story of the Cat and the Black-Bird; the Squirrel’s Nest; the Equestrian Friends; and points out the Beneficent Care of Providence in implanting in the Breasts of each of his Creatures the Instinct which is necessary for its Security and Protection.

“Good evening, Uncle Thomas?  We were so delighted with the adventures of Kees, that we wish to know if you have any more such amusing stories to tell us.”

“Oh yes, Boys, plenty such, but it is now time to bring these STORIES ABOUT INSTINCT to a close.  I am therefore going to conclude by narrating one or two stories about the affections of animals.  I wish to impress your minds with feelings of kindness towards them, and I think that the best way to do so is to exhibit them to you in their gentleness and love; to show you that they too partake of the kindlier emotions by which the heart of man is moved, and that the feelings of maternal affection, and of friendship, and of fidelity, are as much the prerogatives of the lower animals as they are of man himself.  Perhaps one of the most amiable lights in which the affections of animals are exhibited is their love and attachment to their offspring.  You have all seen how regardless of danger a domestic hen, one of the most timid and defenceless of animals, becomes when she has charge of a brood of chickens.  At other times she is alarmed by the slightest noise—­the sudden rustle of a leaf makes her shrink with fear and apprehension.  Yet, no sooner do her little helpless offspring escape from the shell, than she becomes armed with a determination of which even birds of prey stand in awe.”

“Oh yes, Uncle Thomas, I have often seen a hen attack a large dog and drive it away from her chickens.”

“It marks the wisdom of the omnipotent and all-wise Creator, Boys, that he has implanted in the hearts of each of his creatures the particular instincts which were necessary for their safety and protection.  Thus, in the case I have just spoken of, the instinctive courage with which the mother is endowed, you will find to be the best security which could have been devised.  In some other birds this instinct exhibits itself in a different way.  If you happen to approach the nest of the lapwing, for instance, the old birds try every means to attract your attention, and lure you away from the sacred spot.  They will fly close by you, and in an irregular manner, as if wounded; but no sooner do they find that their stratagem has been successful, and that you have passed the nest unobserved, than they at once take a longer flight, and soon leave you behind.”